Mostly unfounded
Dan and others,
I certainly don't have all the answers but over 30 years experience with various composites. The list was one I put together.
The WS metered pumps work fine. Make sure there is hole in the top of the can so it can vent properly for pumping. Weight measuring is probably the most accurate but a real pain and leads to much waste.
The pumps will lose prime but if you pump them slowly you can get them working fine without losing any product.
I'm not sure what people are doing with the epoxy
I did all the glass work on my plane, more than most would do, my neighbors plane and a couple of model airplane projects with one quart. I think most people over mix, and that is why I mark the pumps for one half pump.
WS is very forgiving for inaccurate ratios. That is why I think it excellent for RV builders who may have little to no experience with fiberglass work.
Regarding the glass tapes, those from
www.cstsales.com are excellent. They don't have the heavy edge binding that you might see from boat shop type glass tapes. They conform very well and bend around the RV windscreens with out problems. They are reasonably priced and eliminate the need to try and cut strip from cloth stock.
If you are not into glass work, don't even try to getting into the cutting game. You'll have a mess, wasted product and a very bad attitude after trying this.
Regarding Rage and other fillers. My friend that guided me on my painting has been doing big buck custom cars, trucks, trailers etc.... uses Rage on these projects. One of my airpark neighbors builds very high dollar custom cars. His hired gun painter and finisher uses Rage and Evercoat 416 as a filler. These are show winning vehicles. Obviously you don't use huge buildups but using to fill and feather is completely appropriate. It is lighter and stronger than some of the epoxy filler mixes. Just because it uses epoxy doesn't mean it is always the best.
I also use Evercoat 416 Metal Glaze as a feather filler. Both Evercoat and Rage are catalyzed fillers and don't shrink after curing. They sand well and are very strong.
Popcicle sticks work fine for most of the jobs. Tongue depressors work good for the larger jobs.
This list was put together to minimize the cost and simplify the process for most RVers. There are many ways to accomplish the same thing. I prefer to work smarter, not harder.
Somebody will probably yell at me, but I think your list will make you hate glass work.
West ratio is 5-1. A quart of resin and a pint of hardener is rather unbalanced. A quart probably isn't enough anyway.
Cheap in-the-can pumps suck....literally. When you suck an air bubble and it splats in your cup, you know the ratio is drifting. There is no way to correct it. Pumps also lose prime so the first push or two gets you a partial portion. And they drip all over your bench. Sure, West System seems to have a lot of ratio leeway. However, inaccurate ratios mean that even if your mix cures, it still may not meet mechanical spec, and you may have trouble with subsequent coatings (you have unreacted component).
The right way to get an accurate ratio every time is to mix by weight. With a gram scale you can mix 10 to 1000 grams of resin and never miss, and you can do it with any epoxy system ratio. Get two cheap condiment bottles (ketchup and mustard, red and yellow) for your resin and hardener. Note the cup weight. If your 3oz cup weighs 2.2 grams and the ratio is 5-1 (West), put the cup on the scale, squirt in resin 'til the scale reads 52.2, then squirt hardener until it reads 62.2. Whoops, you were not careful and dropped in 12 grams of hardener? No problem, ratio is 5-1 so add 10 more grams of resin. Perfect, every time.
Tape has it's uses, but not many. It has a selvage edge (makes a raised line in your layup). Plain weave tape won't drape around compound curves and bias tape pulls into narrower strips when you handle it. Buy a few yards of 9.8 8-harness satin cloth (Wicks or Spruce) and a pizza cutter. You can lay a hemisphere over a bowling ball.
You don't want popcicle sticks; too narrow. You want tongue depressors.
I use Rage for a few things, mostly fairing plywood or over an auto body panel on a cheap used car. It is also pretty good for quick jigs and fixtures. I can't imagine why you would build an epoxy layup and coat it with a polyester product. Sure, it will probably work long term. Microbubbles and epoxy over epoxy always works.
You need the chip brushes Rick mentioned. Flox too, cabosil thickener is optional. Also buy some 4-mil plastic sheet, a box of disposable gloves, and at least a cheap dust mask (a 3M respirator is better). For sure buy some drywall filter bags for your shop vac.
